MASON COUNTY, Texas — February 4, 2021, will be forever burned in Mason County Judge Jerry Bearden's memory.
"A year ago it was very hard on me and it still is hard on me," Bearden said. "I had to take some people on a tour of the courthouse this morning looking at some things and when I walked in my old office, I had to turn around."
Bearden doesn't get too emotional about the fire very often anymore, but he keeps the memories fresh with mementos in his office: pictures of the fire hang next to his desk, photos of the courthouse construction beginning in 1909 sit on his office floor ready to be hung, a specially-made pecan wood gavel made from one of the trees that had to be removed after the fire sits on his desk.
"I don't ever want to forget what happened. Every day when I walk in this office, I turn over here and I look at these pictures of that courthouse on fire and it reminds me that I still have a responsibility to get this done," Bearden said.
Friday afternoon, Bearden shared new mementos with members of the 14 fire departments that responded to their calls for help last year. The ceremony was supposed to take place last Friday, but severe winter weather delayed it.
"A lot of the little rural fire departments that came in here with their little small trucks, and they spent all night with us fighting the fire the next day," Bearden said. "We retrieved some of the burned roof material from the courthouse ... They are in a glass frame with a letter on the back of it from the commissioners court and myself thanking these people and honoring them for the work they did a year ago to fight this fire."
Local artist Bridget Langdale designed the commemorative tin plating from the old courthouse roof. During Friday's ceremony, she told the crowd gathered at the courthouse she was there the night of the fire. When she found out there was some material saved, she immediately took the opportunity to share the simple gift.
"When I looked at this pile, I saw potential and beautiful things and a remembrance of our courthouse. These pieces of tin were all connected in one big, long piece. They were all bent in different shapes," Langdale said. "The coloring on it depends on the intensity of the heat and the amount of smoke and the type of smoke that hit this. And so I took it all apart. I hammered it flat and then we had it framed."
Langdale designed 15 of the framed tin platings. Most were passed out to fire department representatives at the ceremony on Friday.
Bearden's term as county judge ends this year. He does not plan to run for re-election, but hopes to continue consulting on the reconstruction of the 111-year-old courthouse. He's excited to celebrate when it's completed.
"I think it's going to be probably a bigger celebration that Mason's ever seen," Bearden said.
The accused arsonist, Nicholas Miller, is slated to see his first pre-trial hearing later this month.
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